Emma Stone is one of those young, ridiculously successful actresses that you would hate, aside from the fact that she's just so damn charismatic and talented.
The actress turns 32 today and starting with her breakthough role in 'Superbad' back in 2007, her star continues to rise.
Starting off with teenybop roles in the likes of 'Zombieland', 'Marmaduke', 'Easy A' and 'The House Bunny', Stone's roles quickly matured.
The actress got her blockbuster break in her role in 'The Amazing Spider-Man' (and its sequel), opposite Andrew Garfield.
She fared even better starring opposite Ryan Gosling in 'Crazy Stupid Love', 'Gangster Squad' and of course, 'La La Land'.
Her performance in the latter, as we all know, won Stone the Academy Award for Best Actress; but that's not the only award-winning movie she's starred in, impressing also in 'Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)' and 'The Favourite'.
Here are what we think have been her five best scenes to date.
5. 'The Favourite' - Rabbits
'The Favourite' was a totally surreal movie and as such required surreal performances to match. Such were adeptly provided by its three leads of Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone. The latter two played cousins vying for the affections of Queen Anne, played by Colman. In this scene, the Queen and Abigail (Stone) share an affectionate heart-to-heart about the former's rabbits. Stone keeps you guessing as to how much her sympathy for Queen Anne is real, and how much is performative.
4. 'Easy A' - "Bad Reputation"
'Easy A' marked one of Emma Stone's first leading role and she is fabulous as good-girl-gone-bad (thought not really) Olive. When her friends and the school turn against her, deeming her a "skank", Olive decides to not shy away or be humiliated but embrace the status and empower herself. This scene is to 'Easy A' as that Regina George incriminating Cady in the Burn Book is to 'Mean Girls'. Obviously it's not as iconic, but maybe it should be.
3. 'Crazy Stupid Love' - The Big Move
Emma Stone does a magnificent job of being the "every woman" (as opposed to the every man), if there is such a thing. That may be no better exemplified than with her role in 'Crazy Stupid Love', and in this scene in particular. Trying to convince Ryan Gosling that she's "sexy" (while drunk), the actor then proceeds to remove his shirt. Her reaction is all of us. The chemistry between the actors after they do the 'Dirty Dancing' lift is on fiyah.
2. 'Birdman' - "You're not important"
Not everyone can go toe to toe with Michael Keaton - I mean, they guy is Batman. And Beetlejuice. But I guess when he's your dad, he's still your dad, so it's important to keep him in his pace. 'Birdman' is (seemingly) shot in a single take and for this moment, DoP Emmanuel Lubezki focusses on Stone, captures every morsel of her character's rant. You can see years of frustration and fury have built up in her (again, we've all been there, losing it at a parent) as she tells him off for being out of date and irrelevant in the contemporary world. Yet she exhibits just a little regret at having gotten so mad at the end of the monologue.
1. 'La La Land' - "Audition (The Fools who Dream)"
Emma Stone had plenty of amazing scenes in her Oscar-winning performance in 'La La Land'. There was her other (far more humourous, and less musical) audition scene, as well as the fight at dinner. You could argue that this moment recalls Anne Hathaway singing "I Dreamed a Dream" in 'Les Mis' which also won her an Oscar. But more importantly is the fact that Stone so beautifully reflects all her character's desires and growth, and arguably those of herself as an actress, in this number. It's a deeply moving moment.
